


Finding Wonderland

by shewearsglasses



Category: Alice (2009)
Genre: F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-01
Updated: 2014-03-01
Packaged: 2018-01-14 04:23:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1252669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shewearsglasses/pseuds/shewearsglasses
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Cause you're my Alice, and I'm your Hatter. And we're going to live happily ever after in Wonderland."</p>
<p>And the rain came pouring down.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Finding Wonderland

**Author's Note:**

> So, I actually wrote this story way back in 2010, so excuse the sappiness that I can no longer lay claim to. I edited it all before posting, but if I were to write a similar story today, it would probably end much differently.
> 
> I'm currently in the process of transferring all my old fanfics from fanfiction.net.
> 
> Also, there's a few cutesy lines not written by me. I took a few quotes from Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland.

It was Autumn.

The leaves were falling: red, gold, yellow.

A drought had taken over the city of Wonderland. Citizens moved about, bemoaning the loss of the rain.

Among the jumble of people, a lost female skidded to a stop.

"Tea Shoppe," she read lazily, her fingers playing with the ends of her hair. The shop was fall-colored, calm oranges and browns decorated the outside of the small building. It was a little wrinkly and old around the edges, but it was cute. Consider her intrigued.

She opened the door and was immediately taken aback by the volume inside. Many a person decorated the sweet-smelling tea shop. A man with a short white beard and curling moustache sat at the window seat, sipping from his cup. A short, fat woman with fiery red hair was giving her companion a stern look. There was a handsome, blond man flirting with a fellow young woman; their matching red lipstick gave away stolen kisses, unfortunately his back was turned so she never quite caught the man's face.

When the woman's eyes stopped circling the shop, her view was centered upon the rugged brunet behind the counter. A hat rested atop his wild mane and his chocolate eyes stared out the window at the bustling city. His focus shifted with every passing patron, and his posture showcased a possible distaste for his work. Hard to believe anyone working for such an intricate little shop could ever be bored.

His arms rested upon a glass counter and… Her interest was briefly captured by all the pastries within, but when he moved as if to stretch his neck, she blinked back to her earlier train of thought. His eyes, still unfocused on those just outside paused when she came into view. His hand let go of his head, his eyes lit up with… interest?

"Hello, Miss. May I help you?" A soft smirk accompanied his question.

She could barely contain the stutter threatening her from the back of her throat, "I… yes. Hold on. Give me a second."

His smirk widened and he glanced backwards at the large chalkboard covered with various teas, "Need any help with your choice?"

"No. I just wanted more time to ogle you in silence," he blinked, unsure of how to categorize her smile. Was it flirtatious or sarcastic?

His smirk had become a grin before he could stop it, "Take all the time in the world, Miss."

She leaned in over the counter and smiled lazily, "I'll take the special."

"Ah, ‘Ecstasy.’ Good choice, Miss..." His voice trailed off as his eyes ran over her form.

"Alice," she said. She smiled hesitantly, twisting a loop of hair around her finger as nerves nearly overtook her.

He leaned back and his hand went up to tip his hat forward. He grinned at her before turning to pour the oddly-named tea, "The name's Hatter, Miss Alice. I own this shop."

 

"Of course you do," Alice said, amusement coating her voice. "You're the mad hatter and you own the Tea Shoppe. And of course, I, Alice, am your customer."

"I've been waiting for you for centuries, Alice."

She smiled and leaned upon the counter to admire its hidden treasures. There were countless baked-goods hidden behind the glass barrier. Alice wished for the control required to ignore them. She said at last, "Everything happens for a reason."

When she glanced up, Hatter was situated directly in front of her. His lips were barely an inch from her own and his eyes were dark. There was a mysterious tint to the edge, and had she known him better, Alice would say it was coated in lust, but she didn’t, so she chose to instead focus on the flirtatious twinge to his smile. Her full cup of tea was balanced in his open palm. When she leaned down, her nose nearly brushed hers, and did his breath smell of peppermint?

Her wallet was open as soon as she could pull herself away long enough to search for it, "How much?"

"Not a cent for my soul-mate."

The words caught her off-guard. She flicked her eyes towards his in confusion.

She paused before speaking, giving him a once over. The teasing smile was still present, only now it was joined by a single, raised brow. "No. That's not necessary,” she said.

He held his hand out and covered her wallet, pushing it away from the counter. "Alice, Alice," he hummed her name. His voice was husky, and her name sounded so… beautiful on  
his lips. "Don't be mad. Take the offer and drink your ‘Ecstasy.’”

Alice paused in her motions, before dropping her wallet into her purse and taking the tea from Hatter. "Thank you."

"No, don't thank me," Hatter said as she turned to leave, "Thank fate, for finally bringing you home, Alice."

 

The bell chimed and Hatter's head tilted to regard the new customer. A man with twin ponytails stepped into the shop and the brunet almost groaned. The usual customer could come or go; he wanted that Alice-girl to come back.

When the shop was finally full and the sun had risen in the sky, Hatter motioned to his co-worker, Carpenter, to take his place at the counter.

He stalked out back and leaned against the rear-door. He pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lifted it to his lips, taking a long drag.

He raised his head to the sky and gazed at the brilliant sun, praying for it to disappear. He wanted wet, cold rain. He wanted to feel the cool liquid on his face. He wanted the calm sense of self restored only by the chilling autumn showers. He felt stressed and jumpy in the humid air.

A chime announced the arrival of new customers. Hatter propped the door open to check the people for the pretty brunette he'd met the day before.

No, the only new additions to the crowd were the “Queen of Hearts,” as Carpenter liked to call her, and her lame excuse for a king. He noticed the blond couple arriving, always at six-o-clock, as usual just as he closed the door.

When the door opened and closed an hour later, Hatter finally pried himself from the wall and relieved Carpenter. He frowned, the clock was nearly closing and the tables were mostly empty.

Alice wasn't coming, he decided. She’d probably just been another tourist in town for the day.

When the bell chimed for the nth time that evening, Hatter didn't even glance at the person. He only tilted his head to show that while his eyes were closed, he was fully awake.

"Time just got carried away from me today," said a familiar voice.

Hatter's hand fell away from him, and his head slammed into the counter. The girl gasped and tried to choke down her giggles. He grinned, "Alice!"

"Hatter," She smiled dryly and asked him for the special of the day again.

"Did you hang out with the white rabbit?" Hatter finally asked when she took the tea—today it was ‘Relief’—from his outstretched hand.

She tried to hand him a few crumbled bills, but he shooed her hand away with a grin. She frowned but put it back in her wallet all the same, "Excuse me?"

Hatter shifted to capture her eyes. They were an ocean of mysterious blue. He could drown in their murky depths. He said, "You said time got carried away from you. Did you hang out with the white rabbit? As in ‘Alice and Wonderland?’ I'm late. I'm late!" He tried to play off the lame joke with a grin, but couldn't hide the idiocy he felt.

She laughed. The sound returned Hatter’s confidence to him, and he perked. He felt the need to hear that laugh every day. He wanted to be the one to cause her to make the very sound day after day after day.

"No. I was too busy moving to do much of anything."

"Moving, you say?" Hatter asked, leaning towards her.

"Oh. I've recently moved into the apartment two blocks down." She nudged her head in the supposed direction, "I have so many boxes! I'll be working for weeks to unload!"

Hatter smiled and continued to pepper her with questions. Even when the clock hit nine and the neighboring shops began locking their doors; Hatter’s focus was stolen by this enchanting woman. Only when she announced her weariness with a yawn did he allow her to leave.

 

For weeks, Alice stopped in daily, sipping tea with Hatter as they laughed at silly jokes. Carpenter often joked about what a sap Hatter was becoming, but Hatter pushed the comments aside with little more than a scowl.

Alice's eyes haunted his dreams and her laughter was forever the song on his mind.

He spent the morning lulls just thinking of topics to discuss, in case an awkward silence paused their conversation.

The weeks turned to months and pretty soon it was spring.

April brought no showers, it turned out, but it did bring flowers. After all, Alice always came to chat with her beautiful lily scent and her orchid-blue eyes.

Then, one day, she didn't come.

Hatter couldn't push the absence off as a sick-day, she came in everyday, coughing or sneezing or rubbing at her eyes. She probably had had other things to do and lost track of time. Maybe something had happened. A friend could’ve fallen ill and she’d needed to take care of them. Alice was a saint, Hatter had learned.

Whatever the problem, Hatter allowed it to fog his mind for only moments before concentrating on serving his next customer.

But the absence became a recurrence. The day turned into two and two into three. Before he knew it, Alice had not visited in a week. Hatter's attitude dissolved into petulance. His sarcasm was no longer witty, his grins no longer teasing. Carpenter took notice. Evidently, the customers weren’t blind either; they began choosing to wait until Hatter’s break to order.

One week became two and soon enough, the days added up to a month. Hatter had survived seven dreary rain-less months with the quiet beauty and he needed her as much as his lungs needed air.

The chime of the door no longer drove his eyes to the sound; it only caused him anger. For the first few weeks he was paranoid, brown eyes rarely leaving the crowded streets.

When summer began and Alice still showed no signs of returning, Hatter began to give up. He allowed the flirtatious glint to return to his smile when speaking with customers. He started joking with Carpenter again and mocking the "Queen of Hearts" every-time she arrived. And before the start of August, Hatter had reverted almost completely back to his old self.

 

Hatter was cleaning the counter, whistling under his breath to the radio. He spun his dish-rag, laughing when it flew off and landed on the other side. Carpenter had deserted him for the day and the customers had stopped pouring in little more than an hour ago. The clock had struck nine only twenty minutes previous, though Hatter had yet to lock the door.

It was the kind of day that made Hatter miss the rain.

He slid towards the window, peering into the dark streets with a calculating gaze. He glanced up and was surprised to see dark clouds covering the indigo sky. He blinked, maybe it would finally rain.

A clearing of the throat caused his eyes to roll. "I'm sorry," he told the figure in the doorway. "But, we're closed, you'll have to come back—" When his body stopped moving and his eyes focused on the customer, he laughed.

"Of all the silly nonsense, this is the stupidest tea party I've ever been to in all my life," her words were accompanied by a dazzling smile. It lit up her entire face. He continued to gawk at the female he hadn't seen in months.

When it became clear that he could not stand around all day, he blinked and stumbled behind the counter. "Would you like a little more tea?" He asked hurriedly, holding up the teapot to her view.

She laughed, muffling the sound with her sleeve. She padded her way to the counter, and shook her head, "Well, I haven't had any yet, so I can't very well take more."

"Ah, you mean you can't very well take less," shouted a voice from the back room. So Carpenter hadn’t deserted him, after all.

"Yes," he said, shifting to rest his arms across the counter and stare at her. "You can always take more than nothing."

She laughed aloud. Memories he’d only just managed to forget began to stir inside of Hatter. Her laughter was music to his ears. "Can I get you anything, Alice?" he asked, smiling at her, hoping she would stay forever.

"Just the special, as usual," her eyes turned soft at his look and she glanced away. "Listen, Hatter—"

"No need to explain anything to me, Alice," he said, fidgeting as he moved to grab ‘Joy’ from the shelf.

"But, I do!" She tried again, standing straighter in her place, "Hatter, I'm so sorry I haven't been here all these months! I was away—" She shifted and cleared her throat, biting her lip with heavy guilt, "I'm so sorry that I never told you, but, I moved here with my boyfriend, Jack. I—"

"Jack Heart?" She nodded, and he said, "He's been—"

"I know. Cheating, I know," she laughed, resting her head against her hand. "We broke up almost immediately, but I—I needed to get away. This small town thing was driving me crazy! So, I did. I took the next plane out and stayed with my mother in the city. But I missed Wonderland. I missed the people and the places and.... And you, Hatter, I missed you."

He blinked, "I—”

"No. Let me finish. I know this was—is—nothing, but I like you. I like the talking and the tea and, well, just this. I like this." She curled her hands together and looked at Hatter from under her eyelashes, "I missed you. And this. And I don't know if you feel the same way—or if you just want to be friends—because you're kind of a flirt. And I could be just—"

"You're mad," Hatter told her, a smirk upon his lips.

"You should talk," she said, aghast, almost laughing. "You're as mad as your stupid name! You—"

"Stop. Wait." Hatter held a finger up and grinned lopsidedly, "Of course I like you. You're my Alice, and I'm your Hatter. And we're going to live happily ever after in Wonderland. Now, would you shut up and let me kiss you?"

She gasped but allowed him to latch onto the back of her neck and tug her closer. He moved further against the glass counter and leaned over it, pausing when her eyes drooped closed and his forehead rested against hers. After a pause, he was still staring. She blinked an eye open, almost laughing at the foolish expression on his face. He grinned stupidly, closing the distance he wished had never entered their lives.

And the rain came pouring down.


End file.
